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Martin Scorsese Presents "The Blues"Part Three of Four First Appeared at The Music Box, November 2003, Volume 10, #11 Written by John Metzger
In Warming by the Devil’s Fire, Charles Burnett relays the fictional account of a 12-year-old boy who in the 1950s was sent to Mississippi to be baptized. There, the child was caught between the worlds of his two uncles — one who is a preacher and one who introduces him to the darker side of life. The blues were long associated with corruption and debauchery, and given the storyline of the film as well as the artists represented on its associated soundtrack, one gets the sense that, perhaps, Warming by the Devil’s Fire might trace the vagabond lifestyle from rural Mississippi to urban centers like Chicago and New York City, while covering the transformation of the blues from devil’s music to its acceptance by the church as well as by society. Although the collection includes tracks from Robert Johnson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe while wandering from the gruff Delta blues of Charley Patton’s Hang It on the Wall to the metropolitan grit of Sonny Boy Williamson’s Cross My Heart and covering both the back porch moan of Son House’s Death Letter as well as the sophisticated air of Billie Holiday’s I’m a Fool to Want You, this isn’t exactly the case. Instead of telling a story or sticking to a particular theme, Warming by
the Devil’s Fire pays tribute to the blues by unearthing a myriad of vintage
recordings that never received their proper due. Two-thirds of the tracks were
recorded before 1955, and included are many nearly forgotten gems such as Jelly
Roll Morton’s jazzy Turtle Twist, Mildred Jones’ innuendo-laden Mr.
Thrill, the Memphis Jug Band’s weary K.C. Moan, Sister Rosetta
Tharpe’s uplifting Up Above My Head (I Hear Music in the Air), and Bessie
Smith’s boisterous Muddy Water. Although the song cycle doesn’t have
quite the cohesiveness of some of the other soundtracks, the set remains
extraordinarily engaging, perfectly demonstrating the raw, seductive power of
the blues.
Of Further Interest... Part One: Feel Like Going Home: A Film by Martin Scorsese Part Two: The Soul of a Man: A Film by Wim Wenders Part Four: Piano Blues: A Film by Clint Eastwood
Warming by the Devil's Fire is available For Canadian orders, please Click Here! For UK orders, please Click Here!
The Blues: A Musical Journey (CD Box Set) is available For Canadian orders, please Click Here! For UK orders, please Click Here!
The Blues: A Musical Journey (DVD Box Set) is available For Canadian orders, please Click Here! For UK orders, please Click Here!
46th Annual Grammy Award Winner: 46th Annual Grammy Award Winner:
Ratings 1 Star: Pitiful
Copyright © 2003 The Music Box
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Various Artists